Not One Star
My newest horror story, ONE STAR, has now been out for a little over a week. About the aftermath of a book blogger's horrifying experience with giving a one star review, it's a story that walks a delicate line, to say the least.
As an author, it's impossible to know how one's work will be received, and while I intended this story to be an homage to book reviewers, it could just as easily have hit a nerve or put people off. I'm grateful to find that the story's been received -- so far, at least -- as intended, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Prior to releasing the story, I approached a few reviewers with advanced copies, then set the story to be a free release on all eBook platforms. The success of this story lies 100% in the hands of those who have reviewed and shared their thoughts, and the power of that statement is so much more poignant considering what the story is about.
All I can say is THANK YOU.
For giving my story a chance. For spreading the word and encouraging others to give it a shot. For posting your honest thoughts about your experience. There's a reason this story is dedicated to book reviewers everywhere -- we, as authors, can't exist without you.
So here are the links to those who have taken their precious time to add a review or share their thoughts. And if you aren't following these gracious readers on social media or their blogs, please consider doing so. Each of them dedicates time to spread the word about great reads they encounter. And that's always worth a follow. (And to anyone I may have missed, please hit me up -- it wasn't intentional!)
Links to the story and synopsis below as well, but don't scroll down until AFTER you've followed all of these crazy and wonderful individuals!
Bark's Book NonSense -- @BarksBooks
Author Steve Stred -- @stevestred
Author Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi -- @ErinAlMehairi
Author Karl Drinkwater -- @karldrinkwater
Author Duncan Ralston -- @userbits
Author Joseph Souza -- @josephsouzafans
Owl Be Sat Reading -- @OwlBeSatReading
The Tattooed Book Geek -- @SarcasticEnigma
Author Dan Earl -- @EarlAuthor
Meenaz Lodhi --
Horror After Dark -- @HorrorAfter
High Fever Books -- @HighFeverBooks
Author Michael Patrick Hicks -- @MikeH5856
Bibliophile Book Club -- @BibliophileBC
Becca La Ghoul -- @astoldbybex
Jessica's Reading Room -- @JessReadingRoom
Welcome to the dark side of book reviewing.
Every action has a consequence. But when Li posts a one-star review of a novel on her book blog, the results are far more frightening than she could ever have imagined. Not every story was meant to have a happy ending.
ONE STAR is a previously unpublished horror short story, being released in The Behrg's upcoming short story collection -- The Passengers You Cannot See. It is the author's love letter to book bloggers and reviewers, and thus is being offered as a free download to any book reviewer in part to thank all those who have been a part of the author's journey. And if you haven't yet been a part, there's no better time than now to jump in that car and ride along. Oh, the vistas you will see.